Bill gives break to schools for snow days

If a bill that has passed the Senate Thursday remains intact, students in the Cheboygan Area Schools will get a two-day reprieve for the end of the year.

By Richard Croftonrichard@cheboygantribune.com

If a bill that has passed the Senate Thursday remains intact, students in the Cheboygan Area Schools will get a two-day reprieve for the end of the year.The bill, which passed 34-1, would give forgiveness to state schools as long as they could meet the 1,098 hours of instruction for a year. Some schools may have lengthen the school day to meet the requirement. The bill came about after numerous snow days this year. The house already has passed a version of this bill and now a conference committee will work out the details and forward the bill to Gov. Rick Snyder.CAS Superintendent Mark Dombroski said if the bill remains, Cheboygan will not be lengthening its days, but will eliminate two days.“We have built in 1,132 hours of instruction in our year,” he said. “We have the extra hours already.”In February, Dombroski said he wrote the state asking for some forgiveness.“Friday, June 7 will be the best case scenario for the last day of school,” he said. “Actually Thursday, June 6 would be, but we are planning on June 7.”The superintendent said with the number of days of instruction, Cheboygan will be extending that time by two days next year so there will be 172 instructional days.State law only allows six days to be canceled or else schools lose state funding, but some have gone over the limit.Supporters of the legislation say family vacations and summer camps already have been booked for the weeks after school was supposed to end. And makeup days don’t count unless 75 percent of kids show up, leaving school administrators worried too many families might decide to stick with their previous plans.The bill was amended in the Senate to also help schools affected by recent severe flooding in Michigan.